The Millennials Are Coming! The Millennials Are Coming!

It doesn’t take a midnight rider to let us know that the millennials are coming.

Currently more than 8 million Canadians are in this post-Generation X age bracket (those born between 1980 and 2004), and by 2020 they will comprise more than 40 percent of the working population. Industry, and the economy it holds up, needs to prepare.

The millennials—also known as Generation Y—are a group that grew up with technology. It’s part of the fabric of their lives. Technology for them is not a luxury, but a necessity, and sometimes it’s even a fashion accessory. As proof, I doubt we’d see any members of The Greatest Generation waiting in line to be the first to purchase a new gold Apple Watch (MSRP: $10,000).

Millennials are more connected to technology than any other age group, and this is what sets them apart as their own distinct generation. In a business setting, this group is more likely to feel more comfortable with communicating electronically via text, e-mail, or social media than in any other manner. They are tech-savvy, socially conscious, and want to make a difference.

What’s important to them is also different. They think about wellness and choose to work at companies that do too.

Attracting them to the manufacturing industry is critical as the baby boomers retire. Manufacturing companies may also need to change the way they hire and develop talent to get the millennials onboard.

An Angus Reid poll found that 16 percent of millennials are interested in starting their own business, which is twice as many as the other Canadians in other age brackets. This shows an entrepreneurial spirit. Attracting this group will mean giving them reasons to stay and grow.

Recruiting millennials will mean using the tools they are used to, which include Facebook, Twitter, and Linked- In. These potential staff members also need to know that a job in the manufacturing industry may not necessarily be on a shop floor; it can be in IT, R&D, or sales and marketing.

For many millennials, manufacturing has a negative image. It’s simply because they are unaware that modern manufacturing requires workers with strong technological knowledge as well as keen problem-solving skills.

The opposite, however, also is true: Manufacturing executives typically have a low opinion of today’s young workers.

The truth is that using age brackets, generalizations, and stereotypes is not a good way to judge character and worthiness. Except for Generation X … we’re the best.